Chapter 208

People, Seen Up Close was the program produced by Kang Hee-Jin. The show lived up to its name, focusing entirely on the people behind the stories, not on spectacle or controversy. Because of that, it never pulled strong ratings. The production budget stayed tight enough that the producer handled the hosting herself just to save on host fees. Within the industry, the program barely registered.

However, Do-Jin’s episode changed everything. Thanks to the controversy that already surrounded him, the episode shattered the show’s previous record, and after it was broadcast, the numbers grew even higher.

「I built an orphanage in virtual reality because I wanted to. That was it. I saw the situation, and I felt like doing something. There was no deeper calculation behind it.」

「People say real-world problems matter more, and they are not wrong. I was a recipient of donations myself not that long ago. I grew up in an orphanage. When I was in high school, someone donated a huge batch of high-quality winter coats. Because of that, I got through winter just like everyone else, wearing something warm instead of freezing my ass to death.」

「I was grateful. I really was. Saying this out loud feels awkward, but that experience probably shaped why I donate when I can. I went through it myself.」

「I don’t think growing up without parents gives me the right to represent anyone else in the same situation. I am just me.」

Each answer landed hard, and every word cut straight through the people who had tried to frame him as careless or shallow.

「I might be unusual, but I didn’t really feel longing or resentment. I just accepted it. I told myself that was how my life worked. I didn’t think I was unhappy. When you watch the news, you see far worse situations all the time. Child abuse stories, for example.」

The public opinion of him immediately flipped after the broadcast.

└ Holy shit. I always assumed Do-Jin was some spoiled rich kid. This really puts it into perspective.

└ Yeah, that image was definitely there. What a surprise.

└ Fuck. So he built those orphanages because he remembered his own childhood? That wrecked me.

└ Now it makes sense why he slaughtered those murderers without hesitation. He had reasons.

└ He talks so calmly, but I am sitting here crying like an idiot.

Fans who already liked Do-Jin completely lost their composure once the human story came out.

└ I am a mother with a college-aged daughter. He is around her age, and I was shocked by how grounded he is. I cried through the entire episode. I truly support him.

└ Watching him felt like watching a kid who had to grow up far too early. My chest hurt the whole time. I will keep supporting him.

Parents with teenagers and young adults reacted even more strongly.

└ So these dumb fucks tried to smear this guy? Are you kidding me?

└ Did those talking heads even donate a single dollar before running their mouths?

└ LMAO. Hypocrisy is their passive skill. Donation records my ass. I bet none of those professor fuckers have ever given a single cent.

As public affection for Do-Jin surged, outrage toward the people who attacked him exploded just as violently. The broadcaster’s message boards collapsed under traffic. The official MeTube channel turned into a war zone. Producers, writers, hosts, and even guest panelists saw their social media accounts ripped apart.

Once the crowd found justification, they seized on it and unleashed a tidal wave of backlash.

「Hello. This is announcer Kim Ji-Hye. Although it was not my intention, I sincerely apologize for delivering remarks that may have caused harm. If given the opportunity, I would like to reach out directly to the individual involved and offer a personal apology...」

The mental pressure finally broke the program’s main host. She posted a public apology on her personal social media account.

└ Honestly, the MC just read whatever script they shoved in her hands.

└ Yeah. The real pieces of shit were the PD, the writers, and those so-called experts who could not shut their fucking mouths.

The witch hunt moved with surgical precision.

[Title: Past of PD Ryu Jun-Ho, the guy who messed with Do-Jin]

[Ryu Jun-Ho is not even his real name. His original name was Ryu Jong-Yeol. This is the same bastard who went to prison for rigging an idol survival show. He did his time, changed his name, and crawled back into the same broadcasting company. After switching to current affairs programming, he’s pulled this stunt.]

└ Even without the rigging scandal, that trash was already famous for evil editing that made teenage trainees cry on camera.

└ If the station rehired him, then he probably took the fall for his bosses back then. No way he acted alone.

└ Investigate each one of those fuckers and execute them all.

└ Execute them? Jesus fuck, calm down.

└ LOL, listen to this guy screaming execution like he is running a dictatorship.

Once public opinion turned this ugly, even money-hungry opportunists stopped enjoying the spectacle. The network finally fired the program director. The writers, who already lived on disposable contracts, didn’t even get that courtesy.

To make matters worse, someone inside the “Love and Care” civic organization finally decided the timing was perfect and blew the lid off everything.

“We operate as a civic organization in name only. In reality, the representative treated it like a family business. She spent donation money however she wanted. Cosmetic dermatology treatments, luxury clothes, high-end vehicles, you name it.”

Once the first whistleblower stepped forward, former employees poured out of the woodwork.

“One elderly man living alone once told me it was his birthday and that he wanted galbitang. He said instant food would have been fine. I reported it. They told me absolutely not, because if we granted requests like that, no money would be left. I bought it for him myself, from the most expensive place nearby. That same day, the representative went golfing. That was the moment I quit.”

That testimony barely scratched the surface. Most of the other revelations made even hardened cynics pause.

└ Do-Jin builds orphanages in virtual reality and suddenly that means donation culture is collapsing, lol. Sure.

└ Calling this disgusting feels like a compliment. This is textbook crocodile tears.

└ 98% of donations went to “meal expenses”? Yeah, no shit. She probably ate it all herself.

└ Investigate properly and butcher every last one of them.

└ Jesus Christ, earlier it was execution, now it is butchering?

└ Yeah, they stopped treating them like people halfway through.

The more people dug, the more corruption they uncovered. The outrage never ran out of fuel, and the crowd kept coming back for another round.

└ This is peak bullshit. Donations dropped because people got obsessed with virtual reality? Fuck off.

└ Donations dropped because news about scumbags siphoning money keeps breaking every other month, you braindead fucks.

That was when Rael Group stepped in.

[Rael Welfare Foundation pledges to build a society where everyone shares and lives together.]

The group launched direct aid programs across the board, targeting children, young adults, and the elderly without discrimination. In response, Do-Jin decided to play along and make a few donations of his own.

[“Creator Do-Jin” donates 100 million won to support abused children.]

[“I could not turn away because I understand that pain” donates 100 million won to support young adults aging out of care.]

[“Do-Jin: I respect those who never give up” donates 100 million won to support single mothers and fathers.]

Once Team Leader Kim Young-Hee joined forces with Executive Ju Kang-hee, every move became a killing blow. They didn’t just defeat their opponents; they kept carving up the corpses. While Do-Jin’s reputation continued to climb, the people who tried to drag him down disappeared under the weight of their own filth. And the crowd made sure no one forgot it.

└ This is really not going to work anymore. I didn’t plan to push it this far, but at this point I should just give Do-Jin a reward that only I can give. Starting with filing the marriage paperwork should be fine, right?

└ Are you completely out of your fucking mind. That is not a reward. That’s a goddamn curse.

└ To be honest, it also feels weird if I am the only one enjoying this mess. Everyone looks like they saw an opening and immediately jumped in to farm attention, and for someone who makes that much money, that donation amount looks cheap as hell.

└ The people who never donate a single fucking dollar are always the loudest with this garbage. If it bothers you so much, sit up straight and shut up. Do that before someone snaps your spine and shows you what being uncomfortable actually feels like.

As everything spiraled out of control, Do-Jin felt genuinely unsettled.He had expected some backlash and figured he would take a bit of heat. He never imagined that one small push would cause the whole thing to implode.

“This is fucking ridiculous. What the hell is going on? I only threw a light jab, so why are people getting their heads taken off?”

Do-Jin scrolled through the articles Chun Ji-Hyun had meticulously captured and brought over. One person had been fired outright, another had been put on forced leave, a civic organization had practically fallen apart, and its representative was now facing potential arrest and a criminal investigation.

“A bunch of shady assholes tried to ruin someone innocent and got burned instead. Honestly, that could not have gone better.” Chun Ji-Hyun looked completely satisfied, like she had finally let out everything she had been holding in.

“What is this apology statement? When did they even write this? It’s already been three days,” Do-Jin wondered.

He was only reading the apology written by the emotionally wrecked announcer three days after it was posted. He never bothered tracking what happened next. Instead, he crossed over to the Floating Continent and stayed busy speaking with the Grand Duke about the vampire curse.

When Do-Jin finally came back, this entire disaster was waiting for him. It felt like he had carelessly tossed a grenade over his shoulder and only realized afterward that it had landed in a building full of fuel and explosives, where everything went up in a massive chain reaction.

Curious about how bad things really were, Do-Jin checked MeTube and social media. The comments exposed raw public anger without any restraint. Some criticism stayed grounded and reasonable, but far more people rushed in like a mob that had found a target and refused to let go.

└ This is not even cancel culture anymore. This is a straight-up public execution.

└ People are frothing at the mouth just to tear someone apart. This is unhinged.

└ Yeah, it’s toxic, but let us be honest. If they hadn’t been pulling shady shit for years, none of this would be happening. This is self-inflicted.

That part was hard to deny. Most of the abuse clearly came from consequences that had been building up for a long time. Still, not everyone deserved to be caught in the blast. The announcer who posted the first apology had done nothing except read the script she was handed. From Do-Jin’s point of view, she had already taken more than enough hits.

If this keeps escalating and something seriously bad happens to her, people are going to blame me for it.

Deciding it was better to step in before things crossed another line, Do-Jin took the time to post a message in his channel community.

└ This is Do-Jin. I honestly had no idea things were this chaotic outside, since I have basically been living in virtual reality. I will get straight to the point. I am completely fine, and I genuinely appreciate everyone who worried about me.

└ I was shocked after reading announcer Kim Ji-Hye’s apology and the comments on her social media. She almost certainly just read a script she was given, yet she has been taking the brunt of the backlash. I hope people can stop the mindless dogpiling, even now.

└ My fans would not do that anyway, but I wanted to say it clearly. I really am fine, and I would appreciate it if people stopped putting me on a pedestal. I am just living my life the way I want.

└ I have an important quest to handle, so I am heading back into the game now. Buhbye

The more chronically online fans immediately flooded the channel with replies.

└ What the fuck was that “Buhbye.” Are you flirting with me in public right now? That sounded like a proposal.

└ This guy is annoyingly well-adjusted. Seeing an emotionally stable streamer is blursed.

└ So what you are saying is that the announcer who just read the script gets a pass, and everyone else can get completely fucking destroyed? Got it.

Knowing that there were people who would step in and deal with the fallout no matter what happened brought Do-Jin a sense of relief. With that post, he completely let go of the incident. He turned his attention to the world where no one cleaned up after him and he had to handle everything himself.